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Research Analyst and Project Coordinator - Africa Growth Initiative

Meanwhile, Zuma’s speech focused on policies to address the country’s economic challenges, including its slow economic growth reaching just 0.4 percent in 2016, high unemployment of 27.1 percent, and concerns regarding its investment-grade credit rating status. While he aimed to reassure lawmakers and the public of the government’s commitment to reducing inequality, growing dissatisfaction with Zuma’s leadership—from the opposition, electorate, and even his own ruling party—is evident, the BBC, VOA, and Reuters report. Opposition members have attempted to impeach him five times since he became president in 2009, following a series of scandals. Meanwhile his ruling African National Congress party suffered its biggest electoral defeat since the 1994 post-apartheid election in the 2016 local elections, losing Johannesburg and Pretoria to a coalition of opposition parties. While Zuma will step down as head of the ANC in December 2017, he will continue to serve as president through 2019. ANC leaders are already vying for the top position as the party plans for succession.

This week, concerns over Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s health intensified. The president, on leave since January 23 and currently in the United Kingdom, submitted a letter to his national assembly on February 5 informing them of the indefinite extension of his medical leave. In his absence, Vice President Osinbajo exercises presidential powers. The president did not provide a timeline for his return, but his spokesperson told Reuters that the president was not suffering from any serious medical conditions. The office added that Buhari is extending “his leave in order to complete and receive the results from a series of tests recommended by his doctors.” Nigerians are particularly worried about the situation because of its parallels to November 2009, when then-President Umaru Yar’Adua went on an extended medical leave without informing the Nigerian public. In February 2010, the senate eventually swore in Vice President Jonathan as acting president, who then became Nigeria’s permanent president when President Yar’Adua died in April 2010.

In other news, on Monday, Nigerians took to the streets to protest the country’s governance and macroeconomic issues, as the country is undergoing its first recession in 25 years, and inflation has driven up the costs of basic products (e.g., meat, bread, fish.) The protests attracted more than 500 demonstrators. The critics notably directed their complaints at the Buhari administration, stating that he has made little progress on his electoral promises of fighting corruption, diversifying the oil-dependent economy, and ending the Boko Haram insurgency. Vice President Osinbajo responded, via social media, by stating that the demonstrators were heard “loud and clear” and that, “years of deterioration cannot be reversed overnight.”

The new president—who holds dual U.S.-Somali citizenship and is nicknamed “Farmajo” or “Mr. Cheese”—has a long road ahead of him. Security problems largely caused by al-Shabaab continue to create terror and instability throughout the country. The federal government itself holds little sway over the country’s various states. Divisions among clans, sub-clans, and sub-sub-clans make governing extremely difficult. The federal government also collects very little revenue—mostly from the port and the airport in the capital. Corruption is rampant. After the election, though, citizens flooded the streets in celebration, and news reports cite feelings of joy and hope for the country going forward.

In other election news, on February 3, Chad announced it would yet again be postponing its legislative elections. Originally scheduled for 2015, the elections have been delayed again due to a lack of funds caused by low oil prices, according to President Idriss Déby.